


Shirts When You Want Them

by oursolemnhour49



Series: Domesticity in Monstrous Worlds [1]
Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Conversations, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-12-29 06:02:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1001857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oursolemnhour49/pseuds/oursolemnhour49
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie tries to find out why Ichabod won't wear the clothes she got him. One-shot, no plot whatsover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shirts When You Want Them

**Author's Note:**

> This is my headcanon for why Crane hasn't changed out of his revolutionary garb yet. I'm not entirely sure what Crane's situation is living-wise, so I just assumed Abbie's apartment.

One thing to be grateful for was that he was quiet. 

When Crane was not exuding sarcasm or spouting odd quotes from Revelation, he spent most of his time with his nose in a book. That was fine with Abbie; she’d been worried when she agreed to put him up that he would get into trouble by either shooting his mouth off or failing to understand basic things like crosswalks. But apart from a near miss in a parking lot, he had been accident-free. And for the most part, he seemed to know that keeping his mouth shut was the best way to avoid prying eyes.

She could sympathize with that. 

Overall, he was a decent housemate, much better than a few nightmarish roommates she’d had when she was younger. If he needed something urgently, he would ask her, but for someone over two centuries out of time, Crane was surprisingly self-sufficient. He wasn’t a picky eater, though it had taken him a while to understand the concept of microwaves and freezers. Television had fascinated him briefly, but eventually he’d taken to pacing her apartment. That had been irritating until she asked him point-blank what he wanted. Once she found out, a quick renewal of her library card had been enough to fix the restless ex-revolutionary. 

He was seated at her dining room table now, turning over the pages of some cracked library book. His long legs looked cramped under her lopsided table, making Abbie think of a folded accordion. She wondered how long he had been reading if he had even noticed the bag she had put down in front of his books earlier that evening.

Accordingly, she went to the living room to check her phone and cast an eye at the stack of books Crane kept by his couch. The bag from the local Target was still there, neatly folded, and the clothes were stacked on the couch. So he had seen them.

She went back to the kitchen and sat opposite him. He glanced up at her. “Miss Mills.”

Abbie wondered if she should remind him again that her name was Abbie, but since he still seemed more comfortable with formal address, she decided to let it go. “Hey. Did the clothes in there not fit you? I wasn’t sure about the sizing, so I guessed. I can return them if they don’t.”

His eyes flickered up and his hands shifted to clasp the book. Not a nervous gesture, but a slightly defensive one. “The trousers are a little short for me, but the shirts fit, even if they are a little loose.”

“Okay. I don’t know if I can do much for you on the pants front, but I’ll see if I can get something that’s tall enough and not too wide. What about the shirts?”

Crane turned a page swiftly. “What about them?” 

“Do you not like them or something?” 

“They’re good cloth, finer weave than I could expected, even from machines. I do like them, and I appreciate your purchasing them for me; I’m aware that it’s an inconvenience.”

Abbie scrutinized him for a moment. “I told you, it’s okay. I don’t have anyone to buy things for as it is. If you like them, why aren’t you wearing them now? If you don’t mind my saying it, the one you’ve got could use a wash.”

He half-rose. “If you’d like, I’ll be happy to clean it if you lend me some of your currency.”

“Crane, sit down. Your shirt isn’t in bad condition, but you’ve been wearing it a while. It’s old. It sticks out a bit.”

“And?”

She sighed. “And I’m saying it might make things a bit easier for you if you dressed the part. You know, got comfortable. Because this time is where you are now.”

“Believe me, I’m aware I cannot go back to my own time.” 

The bitterness in his voice was palpable. Abbie fought the impulse to get up and leave. “Is that why you won’t let get rid of the shirt?”

He stared fixedly at the book and Abbie was on the verge of getting up. Then he suddenly spoke up.

“I am… I know that I cannot go back. And I know that I will be here likely until a natural or unnatural death takes me.” Crane looked at her then, and Abbie was surprised by how much pain showed in his eyes. “There is nothing to be done about that. But these clothes,” he gestured toward the jacket, “they help a little. I still feel- even when I’m in your parking lots, surrounded by the lights and the cars and the sounds, I still feel like myself. Like a professor and a revolutionary. Even if I am a suspected madman without any identity or position.” 

They were both quiet for a minute. Abbie got up to pour herself some decaf and sat back down. Crane buried his head in the book again. She sipped at the coffee slowly, pondering the man before her. Some days where she found herself doubting Crane’s sanity. Not because he was erratic, but because he seemed so calm with modern life in general. With such a demeanor, it was easy for her to forget how precarious his position was, crazy or not. Perhaps the clothes were the one thing he felt he had control over, a sort of security blanket until his heart accepted the facts of which his mind was aware. 

At last Crane closed the book and looked at her. “I’m sorry if I seemed to be rebuffing your help. You’ve been kind, and I am grateful. If you would like, I can wear one of the new shirts tomorrow instead of this.”

Abbie smiled and shook her head a little. “It’s all right. Take your time. You don’t need to rush into anything that makes you uncomfortable- or rather more uncomfortable than our current situation. When you want the shirts, they’re there.”


End file.
